News

Online Program for Entrepreneurs

Santa Fe Community College has launched a pioneering
new online program dedicated to empowering students to create and build successful
businesses on their own.

The Entrepreneurship Institute at Santa Fe Community College will develop and offer an
entirely online and accelerated certificate program that students can complete in six
months without putting their jobs or families on hold.
As a changing global economy emphasizes the Internet and franchises, entrepreneurial
opportunities have become a driving force of the world market. Students will learn how
to plan an entrepreneurial venture, create a business model, operate in a global setting and
harness the advantages and far-reaching impact of e-commerce. As part of the program,
students will have opportunities to interact with successful entrepreneurs.

“It is extraordinary for a two-year institution like Santa Fe Community College to offer
undergraduate-level courses in entrepreneurship,” said Dr. Sheila Ortego, president of
SFCC. “This is a perfect fit because of Santa Fe’s strong foundation of small creative
businesses. Our plans for the program include collaboration with the local business
community as well as with existing SFCC programs such as culinary arts, fashion design
and woodworking.”

The program was initiated with startup funding from the Santa Fe Community College
Training Center, an incubator set up to take ideas for academic programs and develop
them into curricular opportunities that serve the community.
“The Santa Fe Community College Training Center is essentially a new program bank
intended to create learning opportunities that will stimulate economic growth and create
new jobs in New Mexico,” said Carole Brito, chair of the Santa Fe Community College
Governing Board. “The entrepreneurship program is just the beginning of what the
Training Center can support, with opportunities that can impact all facets of the
community.”

The program will be offered to anyone interested in entrepreneurship, from small
business owners and seniors looking for a second career, to existing and prospective
franchise owners and students majoring in other fields. Many students will continue their
education and transfer their credits toward a four-year degree.

Students in the program will be able to graduate with a certificate in entrepreneurship or
earn a concentration in entrepreneurship as part of the associate in applied science degree
in business administration at SFCC.
“These students have ideas. They have creativity, initiative and drive. We can give them
the skills they need to be their own bosses and embrace their entrepreneurial spirit,” said
Bruce Besser, a member of both the SFCC governing board and the training center.

“Many people have wonderful ideas for a business and we can help them develop those
ideas and bring them to fruition. Once we train people to become entrepreneurs, then they
hire the other the students we are training for the work force. It becomes a wonderful
cycle.”

Registration for the program opens on Nov. 13. Classes begin Jan. 20. The four
entrepreneurship classes, which are each six weeks in length, are to be taken
consecutively. Instructors in the program include Drew Clausen, a local marketing
consultant, and Anne Uhring, an international business expert.
For information, e-mail [email protected] or call (505) 428-1659.

About Santa Fe Community College

Santa Fe Community College serves more than 14,500 students per year in its credit, noncredit and adult
basic education programs. The 23-year-old college offers academic, career and personal-enrichment
programs and services to meet the needs of business, government and the region’s diverse population. The
college contributes to the area’s economic, technological and cultural development by offering programs
ranging from art to business management and directly addresses regional job shortages through its nursing,
teacher education and culinary arts programs. To learn more, call (505) 428-1000 or visit http://www.sfccnm.edu.

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